Sarah Palin … Right to Life??

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“I don’t know where to start. Since she became Alaska’s governor in 2006, Sarah Palin has committed so many crimes against Alaska’s wildlife, it’s hard to keep up—even for someone who’s lived in Alaska year-round, day in and day out, for nearly 25 years. I never imagined Alaska’s wildlife could suffer so much at the hands of an elected official. For Alaska’s wild animals, Palin’s is a reign of terror.”

Marybeth Holleman – author: The Heart of the Sound: An Alaskan Paradise Found and Nearly Lost

Former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke on Friday at a benefit for the anti-abortion organization Wisconsin Right to Life. Having stated publicly that she would oppose abortion even in cases of rape and incest, it is well-known that Palin would accept abortion as an option only if a mother’s life was in danger.

But there’s another side of Palin for which she is also well-known, and it’s an aspect of her philosophy which seems to be in direct contradiction to her absolutist stand on abortion. When it comes to living beings outside of the species to which she belongs, Palin is notorious for being decidedly anti-life.

Putting aside (for a moment), the enjoyment she finds in personally taking another’s life, let’s take a quick look at her history in regards to animal protection.

In 2008, the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund stated that Palin “has perhaps done more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United States – and that’s a difficult distinction to achieve among our 22 Republican and 28 Democratic chief executives.”

As stated in a 2008 AlterNet article,

“Palin is totally consistent in her anti-environmental stance. She not only wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, but actually vowed to sue the EPA if it dared to declare polar bears an endangered species… It’s hard for most people to understand this sort of hatred for the great mammal species struggling to hang on at the edges of this continent.”

Palin’s most controversial stand in regard to animals has undoubtedly been her support of Alaska’s aerial wolf killing. When Alaskan residents were anticipating a statewide vote to stop the aerial shooting of wolves and bears (which is notorious for the suffering it causes to its victims) Palin organized a campaign against Measure 2 and funded it with $400,000 of taxpayer money. In 2007, she offered a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf as an incentive for aerial gunners to kill more of the animals. In 2009, Palin’s Board of Game approved the use of poison gas and snares to kill wolf pups and their families in and around their dens.

When Palin was chosen to be John McCain’s running mate, she was introduced at the GOP convention as “the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose.”Field dress… It’s a lovely euphemism. The term sounds so benign it almost conjures up images of a bucolic scene featuring a young maiden donning robes for a seasonal festival. When you shine the light of truth on the phrase, it means, quite simply, disemboweling. A specific description of what it involves would be too graphic to include here, but if anyone requires greater clarity in regards to what this ‘pro-life’ advocate is capable of doing to another being who was once alive and sentient, there are many places online where you can read about it exactly what it entails, and why it is necessary to preserve the flesh of a still-warm body. It’s not for the faint of heart.

Killing for fun was an activity Palin was raised with. “Sarah grew up hunting… She and her daddy would wake up at 3 a.m. on school days to hunt moose,” Palin’s mother is quoted as saying. The home where her parents live contains “hundreds of sets of trophy antlers and a taxidermy collection that includes a giant moose head and a full-grown mountain lion.” Photos scattered around the internet during the presidential race showed Palin posing proudly next to the bodies of her victims, and even sitting on a sofa over which was draped the skin of a grizzly bear.

I understand that the ‘pro-life’ position is only concerned with the rights of human beings, and in that regard, Sarah Palin is no different to the rest of the movement. It also seems important to point out that, in her disregard for the inherent value of nonhuman life, Palin is simply an extreme example of the attitude of our entire society. Yet somehow, I can’t ignore the twisted irony of the ‘pro-life’ cause being championed by a woman who actually takes pride in her reputation as a predatory killer.

The issue of reproductive rights is a troubling one, precisely because the sanctity of all life is so deeply connected with our spiritual and ethical values. But whatever one’s position on abortion might be, surely the absurdity of this match is clear. Perhaps the anti-abortion movement ought to reconsider its use of the term ‘pro-life’ altogether, and adopt a term that describes its values more accurately. Until that happens, it is contradictory to have as a face of their movement a woman who clearly has no regard for the sacred nature of life itself.

your statement has no credibility, Sarah has not done one thing to hurt Alaska's wildlife, and her views on Abortion are her views and she is entitled to them, at least right now, but if Obama continues we may loose that right. Why don't you come up with an original thought and quite pulling articles from PETA...

This is an extreme anti Sarah Palin view by someone who would like to hug polar bears or wolves without knowing its consequences. They dont stay cuddly forever!

Farmers from antiquity knew that predatory animals population must be controlled or else the farmed lands could not keep the human population alive.

In a place like Alaska, the crop season is considerably shorter than in the lower 48, therefore there must be willing hunters who will assume the population control of both wolves and other dangerous to crops wild animals (even Bambis family).

Sarah Palin, while a pro-lifer, never said that her PERSONAL view on abortion should be forced onto others! Anyone interested in what she said can watch her TEA party convention speech as well as her interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, on YouTube.

Many of us are so far removed from the world of nature and survival think badly about hunters and the danger wolves were at the time of the American settlers.

The fractious world of the PC-world inhabitants is tearing our REAL world to pieces. We would all fair batter if we just recognize honesty and reality rather than subscribe to vile fear and hate mongering. Protecting the environment also means protecting it for human survival and progress, and Sarah has DONE just THAT with the oil companies!

As for tree huggers, Global Warming chicken littles as well as polar bear snugglers I say wake up and smell

Well here are my facts. To me a baby is a living being upon conception. And abortion is a terrible thing to do to a life. Now if the mothers life is actually in danger, then that is a seperate issue. But most abortions don't fall under that heading. So baring rape or incest which is also a seperate issue and people were fooling around and ended up pregnant and they want to abort, then if both the male and the female don't want the responsibility of this baby.Then the baby should be allowed to be born and the male and female involved that only wanted the fun but not the responsibility should both be fixed. Then unwanted pregnancies won't be a problem.

YoIt was insintuated that it was unbearable that it bothers you to think abou tit for the fact that rather than address the technical aspects of the procedure , you state it is crazy to "think about it" Before we can really be a proponent or opponant
Another of the procedures is to suck up the fetus:
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/unplannedpregnancy/abortionprocedures.html

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Julie M. Rodriguez is an arts, green living, and political writer based in San Mateo, CA. Her work has appeared in xoJane, Care2 Causes, Greener Ideal, and Inhabitat. Follow her on Twitter @julierwrites. less